Crop or full frame for livestreaming and how to convert a crop lens to get full frame equivalent?

[jenwlee]

I had a Rebel T7 and used it as my camera for live streaming using the EOS Web utility. The software is flaky. Sometimes it stops connecting and recently the camera keeps shutting itself off and turns it back on. Not a good livestream experience. I was interested in 5D Mark IV instead.

I'm a complete newbie and know that my rebel is a crop camera and the Mark is a full frame. That's my knowledge.

Is there real difference in using a crop versus full frame camera for livestream where I am either presenting slides, interviewing a person or showing my screen?

And what is the full frame equivalent lens to the lens I had for my Rebel T7 - EFS 18-55mm f 1:35-5.6?

Thank you,

Completely lost, just want a camera to use for live streaming

[Tronhard]

I'm sorry you were upset and felt pressured.  The questions I asked were not meant to be technical in nature, but in fact more of a business outcome - which I would expect you would be able to know.  In terms of business benefits things like: I want to be able to live stream in real time, I want to record videos and upload them later etc. I want to make videos that will be longer than 30 minutes (most cameras have a video limit of 29'59").  These questions are not technical in nature, but they tell us of the outcomes you want to achieve.  It is then that we can look at the features that best support your outcomes and provide good advice to you, for you to make your own decision.

Jaewoosong has provided you with some good advice.  Given we don't know your budget we cannot look at value in that context, but it would certainly seem best not to spend more than you have to.

As regards the list of camera that will provide you with the features you seek, I would recommend you look at the following EOS Webcam Utility page, that also includes a (much expanded) list of cameras suitable for your purposes.

This is where recent developments in Canon technology kick in.  It is clear that DSLRs are no longer being developed and production will eventually be phased out.  It is likely that one day the EOS M compact interchangeable lens cameras will also follow the same path, although sales for vloggers are holding up because of their compact form factor and suitability, and they are relatively cheap.

The new kid on the block is the R-series of Mirrorless Interchangeable Lens Cameras (MILCs).  This is where the investment is focused and new bodies are coming out all the time, along with new lenses.  Of particular interest to your purposes (I think) will be the EOS R7, which is a relatively cheap, small form factor and light body that has recently come on the market.  It boasts a 32MP APS-C sensor, and features such as eye tracking - so the camera will follow your eye as you move around in front of it, In Body Image Stabilization (IBIS) which will work with the Optical Image Stabilization (OIS) of Canon RF and RF-S lenses.   It also has no recording limit, dual cards so you should not suffer loss of data if a card fails, fully-articulated screen - so you can see yourself while you are in front of the camera.

RF and RF-S lenses use a new mount that offers much more control and interaction between the camera body and the lens, thus providing features like combining the stabilization of both the body and the lens, which is brilliant for hand-held videography and generally likely to negate the need for a gimble. designed for full frame bodies.  RF lenses are for full-frame, while RF-S lenses are for crop bodies like the R7.

You might want to consider the following combination: A R-7, along with the kit lens RF-S 15-45mm that is designed to work with it.  This is a more modern version of the same kind of offering from the M50mkII, with its own EF-M 15-45mm, which is a pretty standard vlogging kit.  It is clear that Canon are trying to woo people onto the new R platform by replicating the same solution. You might find the following video of interest: At this link and a full review of the R7 by the respected reviewer Gordon Liang at this link .

Essentially, you will get access to the latest technology at a reasonable price, features you will appreciate for video such as: headphone and mic jacks, no recording limit, IBIS+OIS (with RF and RF-S lenses), great tracking and autofocus.  It has a very fast processor and a wide range of video formats.  It has clean HDMI output (but you must buy the correct cable separately).  You have a choice of two kit lenses:  the RF-S 15-45mm and 18-150mm stabilized lenses.  It appears that the former offers a slightly wider angle if you need that.  There will be more lenses coming out for this mount in the future.

I hope this will be of assistance.

[jaewoosong]

FF camera like 5d mark IV won't give you significant improvement if you're mostly doing live streaming where you have control over lighting.  Moving to a HDMI capture card is the main thing you'll need and the most important bit is "clean HDMI".  Whichever camera you decide to get, just search model and "clean hdmi" to see if clean signal is possible.  For example, your T7 does not have clean HDMI but a T7i does (with manual focus limitation).  This list below shows clean HDMI cameras.  For the lens you have, you can just use the Rebel SL3 or 90D.